retoid

I agree with you, at least in regards to myself and playing. I can't really speak much for others. I assume that some people who are playing golf very often can notice more drastic differences. That being said, I do notice some differences here and there and sound and feel definitely have some say in which ball I end up liking. But that seems more psychological than physical. I've only been playing golf regularly for a year now and I'll play almost any ball since I often lose balls. However, since I've been able to get out once a week for a while now, I am down to losing only about 2-3 balls from losing 10-14 per round. Which feels huge for me and so I've begun to narrow down the balls I choose to play with. I've gone through a box of Vice Pro Plus, Vice Pro, Sugar, Titleist DT Trufeel and Kirklands. Bought a bucket of 350 used balls which had a majority of Srixon Soft Feels in there. I decided to give the Soft Feels a try and have really been enjoying them quite a bit. Only yesterday did I hit a Pro V1 for the first time and it felt quite nice. However, that all being said, I have to admit, I've played my best overall with Vice Pro Plus balls. I get the most distance from these balls and am able to hit them quite well. I am not sure on green side spin/grip, I think I'd prefer them to check up a bit more. But I believe one really big factor for me with these balls is that I usually club down when hitting them because I gain so much distance off of them and I also tend to bring my swing speed down which causes me to have a more accurate swing and ball strike. As opposed to trying to whack the snot out of the ball each time, which ends up in a slice 75% of the time. I do love testing out new balls though, sound and feel is always fun to experience.

I am in the same boat, I'd love to test a LAB OZ but nobody here has them either and I've never seen one played on any courses I've been on. Nor can I afford/commit to blindly buy something at this price and not know how it works for me. I've been playing a cheapy $60 Wilson Harmonized M1 for a long time and was looking at new putters but the price of a new putter is really off-putting. Thankfully I played in a tournament in November and ended up winning a brand new Taylormade TR B31. Will probably be playing this for a few years until I get to try something like the LAB OZ and once it's been discounted if I like it.

I appreciate the feedback and information, this is very helpful. I definitely need to practice and work on my low point control, I can see that making a huge difference, specially in these wet and soggy conditions. This seems like a pretty tough thing to learn but I can see it being an excellent thing to be able to control. And on top of that, more club or clubbing up seems like it should help a lot as well. I wasn't even thinking about the roll out distance. That did seem to make a very noticeable difference. Some of the longer par fours were extremely challenging. Thank you!

Forgive me if resurrecting this thread is wrong, but I think this is still relevant to the topic. Yesterday I played at a local public course and it had been raining the past few days prior. It was extremely wet and soft ground, multiple areas of the course, my foot would sink into the found at least an inch. The traps were mostly flooded and converted to water hazards. I lost 4 balls to being plugged into mud on the fairway or just off the edge of the fairway in the shorter rough. I did notice that the wet conditions affect distance quite a bit, I was having to club up twice in some occasions. But what I am curious about is how to properly look at approaching shots. I am still a novice at best but with these really wet and soft conditions, I felt like there was virtually 0 bounce from my irons and it was giving me such a hard time hitting the ball correctly. I don't normally take divots but yesterday I was hitting most shots pretty thick and probably getting like 3/4 the distance I normally would from my irons. Maybe it's best to just avoid playing when conditions are like this? Unfortunately I live in a very wet area.

Another one to consider is the Noodle. Amazon.com $1.26 a ball.

Wow it's really awesome to see how many courses you all have played. I am jealous! I've only played 7 courses.

Broke my record today and it felt great. Front nine I was 8 over, then on back nine I was only 4 over until the 18th hole. I think I let it get to my head as it was an easy par 3 and I ended up sending the ball into the lake and got my first triple bogey of the day haha. Typical. Nonetheless I can't complain, mostly pars and bogeys all day. Ended with an 83.

Or just check Craigslist for someone selling found balls. There's your best budget.

I don't have a lot of experience with different golf shoes but after trying on a dozen or so and walking around in them, I found the Puma Ignite Articulate Wide to be very comfortable. Comfort and waterproof were the two main features I was looking for in a golf shoe and this one is great for both. The non wide version felt pretty narrow, more so than most non wide shoes as I don't have a particularly wide foot. So definitely try the wide if you are interested. Another main feature about the waterproofing that is important to me is that it's not a chemical waterproofing treatment, as those usually only last a short period. I live in the pacific northwest and it's wet up here a lot. So a proper waterproof shoe is a must for me. These shoes fit snug! Based on the tongueless design, they hug my feet great, however pretty much require a shoehorn to put on. They're also currently on sale.

Bummer, they sure are hiding that info well. I didn't see it and read "prior generation" as old model.

Amazon.com $11.99 for a dozen. Granted there is a ship cost, but that's a great deal.

I may be bias here cause I had such a great game with this ball today. I found a Titleist DT Trusoft a while back and decided to play it today. It was exploding off the face of the driver giving me tons of distance, control from the driver felt great too. I was also getting a bunch of distance off of my irons from it, had to club down most of the time. Again control was great. It felt like it was lacking a bit in spin off the irons and wedges and putted nicely. Overall I was impressed. I think it's a discontinued ball but I came home and looked them up and found that you can still get them for about $20 or so a dozen.

Shot my best score today but didn't feel like the best I've played overall. First time breaking 90 though! Shot an 86. Almost eagled a par 4. Drove the ball to about 10 yards to the green, about 20 yards to the pin. Chipped the ball to land less than an inch from the cup on the second bounce. Was able to birdie it, great feeling!

I'd like to change my vote to Dry Weather Golfer from All Weather Golfer until I improve drastically. Played in non-stop rain on Monday and it was the pits. Worst golf I've ever played, soaked through to my underwear, range finder dead from moisture, phone in dry pocket soaked, entire golf bag soaked and everything in it. No thanks, no more of that nonsense.

Man, I know how this goes all too well! I got to get out again this week and I am very thankful to have been able to. Started the front 9 off with 7 over, which is pretty good for me. One par and a birdie, the rest bogies and a double. Not terrible by any means for how I usually play. However, there seems to be a trend in my golf game that whenever I do well on the front nine, it starts going down hill real fast on the back nine. That is exactly what happened. Ended up with 13 over on the back nine and lost 5 balls on just 3 holes. I was thinking the exact same thing as you, you'd have thought I never knew how to play golf by what was happening. Had 3 triples and a double on the back nine. Otherwise I would have shot my best game yet. Also had a birdie and a par on the back nine. I never get birdies. After the 3rd triple, I just about lost faith and was ready to give up and call it a day. Golf is hard.